Should he start his own business?
He Zhen did not agree outright to his childhood friend.
Facing his childhood friend, He Zhen said frankly: “I need some time to reflect. It was not easy for your mum to save so much money for you. When we do business, we should be even more cautious!”
At ‘Silan’, He Zhen had dared to let loose and act freely. If the He family’s money was lost, so be it. The family all felt that young people needed to pay some tuition fees to learn how to do business.
Now, without the family’s financial backing, if He Zhen incurred losses again, this tuition would have to be borne by his childhood friend alone.
These five hundred thousand plus were his childhood friend’s money, and also his childhood friend’s mother’s money.
Given how favoured that female secretary was now, scraping together such a large sum under the noses of those dog of a man and woman would be nearly impossible. So if He Zhen lost this money, it would truly be too devastating a blow!
He Zhen still looked favourably on the medical beauty industry. If he started a business again, he would certainly choose this sector for which he had done much preliminary preparation, but he would be even more cautious.
He Zhen’s words were sincere, and his childhood friend was even more moved.
Before falling out with his scumbag father, his childhood friend had followed the scumbag father to many dinner parties. He had heard those bosses joke that the first quality of an entrepreneur was skill at raising investments. Using one’s own money to start a business was not impressive. The truly impressive thing was using other people’s money to build one’s own career.
Other people’s money, eh? If it profited, that was a pleasant surprise. If it lost, that was only to be expected.
Investment was not only about vision, but also luck. No investment was foolproof. If his childhood friend gave the money to He Zhen, even if it all went down the drain in the future, his childhood friend could not hold He Zhen accountable. He could only accept the loss himself.
If He Zhen accepted this money, he could operate it however he wished. Even if it was squandered away, there would be no legal responsibility.
He Zhen’s current situation was that he had fallen out with his family, his financial support was cut off, and in Britain he still needed to continue his studies. It was precisely a difficult period when he lacked money.
Even if tuition and living expenses could be managed, He Zhen had lost both his large house and luxury car. He needed even more to use “entrepreneurial success” to prove his own ability!
Under such major premises, for He Zhen to remain so cautious, did that not just show how reliable he was?
He Zhen had always been a good person.
No matter why He Zhen had fallen out with his family, his childhood friend stood unconditionally on He Zhen’s side. He was certain that He Zhen would not be in the wrong in this matter!
Rebecca learned that He Zhen had kept his rational head and refused his childhood friend’s investment.
Rebecca did not comment on it in front of He Zhen, but privately, she formally told her parents about He Zhen’s existence for the first time, letting them know the progress of her relationship with He Zhen.
Rebecca had gone to China more than once, so her parents naturally knew she had a Chinese boyfriend. Her mother had more than once suggested wanting to meet He Zhen, while her father held an indifferent attitude.
It was very normal for a girl to have a boyfriend. It was just dating, and it would not necessarily lead to marriage. If he had to meet every boyfriend, her father did not have that much time!
Her father trusted Rebecca’s judgement in people. Stepping back ten thousand steps, even if she misjudged once in matters of the heart, what did it matter? Rebecca was not the sort of girl who would live or die without love. So her father was not anxious about what sort of boyfriend Rebecca dated. If it was a marriage prospect, Rebecca would certainly bring him home to meet the parents.
For Rebecca to raise it so formally at home, her parents understood: this Chinese boyfriend had already passed all of Rebecca’s tests and was very likely to become their son-in-law!
Rebecca’s father was a rigorous man, even somewhat rigid, a banker by trade.
He had some arrangements for his daughter’s life.
However, Rebecca had been clever and bold from a young age, and was unwilling to follow her father’s plans.
An outgoing and extremely charismatic girl like her did not want to be a pretty socialite who only spent money, nor did she want to inherit her father’s business. Her interests lay in biology. She wanted to be a scientist rather than a banker!
Her father had tried to steer Rebecca’s choices back on course, but helplessly, the character trait corresponding to “cleverness” was often “stubbornness”. A clever girl like Rebecca inevitably had very strong opinions. The father and daughter had a period of divergence lasting several good years, and in the end, it was the father who yielded.
Fine then. Since he could not arrange his daughter’s life, as a fallback, he could at least find a son-in-law to his liking, could he not?
Her father introduced many excellent boys to Rebecca.
They varied in appearance, differed in personality, and had diverse hobbies. Each one taken alone was a top-quality young man very popular with girls.
These “potential boyfriends” favoured by Rebecca’s father were not all from wealthy and influential families. If the boy himself was particularly outstanding, the family background could be relaxed!
Unfortunately, Rebecca did not like a single one.
She was extremely resistant to this arrangement.
It was just at that time that He Zhen appeared.
He was the one among a group of suitors whom Rebecca found most pleasing to the eye. With no romantic history, a clean and sincere Chinese international student. Rebecca had never dated this type of boy before. She felt it very novel.
Life was all about boldly trying new things. Since she also had a good impression of him, then let us date boldly~
With such a mindset, Rebecca began dating He Zhen.
He Zhen was not a flawless boyfriend, but fortunately, Rebecca had never used “perfection” as the standard for measuring a partner. He Zhen was not perfect, and similarly, she was not perfect either. No one should disdain the other!
This dating had gone on for so long. He Zhen was not Rebecca’s first boyfriend, but he had slowly become her favourite one.
She watched a boy gradually transform into a man. In this process, He Zhen did not lose his previous merits. Instead, he gained many new ones.
Their relationship also shifted from the initial passion to something with greater weight.
It was time to introduce He Zhen to her parents.
Rebecca’s father had not expected that among the “sons-in-law” he favoured, Rebecca had not taken a liking to a single one. In the end, she chose a Chinese international student.
Her father proposed seeing He Zhen as soon as possible, but Rebecca was not in a hurry: “I just want you to know of his existence, to prepare you mentally. I will not arrange a meeting in the near term.”
Her father did not understand. Rebecca smiled and explained: “There are cultural differences between China and us. For a boyfriend to meet the girlfriend’s parents for the first time is very solemn. I guess he wants to make more preparations. As his girlfriend, how can I urge him on?”
What was meant by “more preparations”?
Campus romance did not require them.
Once out of campus and entering the next stage of the relationship, even if it was just getting engaged first, He Zhen might not need a highly successful career, but at least he needed financial independence, enough to buy an engagement ring with his own income, no?
The current He Zhen was in a period of financial difficulty.
He Zhen did not covet the wealth of Rebecca’s family. This would instead put psychological pressure on He Zhen.
Her father was very puzzled: “I thought your boyfriend was at least from a middle-class family.”
Rebecca’s father had some understanding of China.
In recent years, China’s economic development had not been slow. The favourable broader environment had given rise to a batch of wealthy Chinese.
This batch of wealthy Chinese were quite willing to invest in their children’s education, all sending their children abroad to study.
In Rebecca’s father’s view, even if He Zhen’s family was not very rich, they absolutely could not be called poor. What inferiority complex would such a young man have upon meeting his girlfriend’s family?
Rebecca burst out laughing: “His family is wealthy in China, but no one stipulates that parents’ money must be spent by their children, right? He has recently fallen out with his parents and had his financial support cut off.”
Her father’s brows furrowed tightly.
Look at that. What had he heard?
Rebecca was clearly quite clever. What nonsense was she spouting!
Though one could not judge a young person’s prospects entirely by family background, without family support, it would be harder for a young person to succeed.
A rational young person would communicate with their parents when facing problems, rather than impulsively falling out.
Rebecca’s father had not even met He Zhen in person, yet he already harboured doubts about him:
“If that is the case, perhaps you should not have told us at this time. Later would be better.”
The subtext was that Rebecca needed to be more cautious about the direction of this relationship.
Rebecca said earnestly: “Believe me, this may not be the best time to meet, but it is certainly the moment I feel I should mention him to you. I am proud of his choices.”
Was falling out with his parents impulsive?
Perhaps!
Only Rebecca herself knew the reason for He Zhen’s fallout with his parents.
She liked this He Zhen.
She also liked He Zhen’s various responses after being subjected to his parents’ economic sanctions.
After all, a person’s character was hard to fully reveal in smooth times. It was only in adversity that it could be seen clearly!
